Our houses benefit from great year-round heat efficiency thanks to double glazing. Double glazing enables you to use less energy all year round, whether it's for keeping your house cosy in the winter or cool in the summer. It is crucial to make sure that your house is as energy-efficient as possible given the present spike in energy costs and the likelihood that they will continue to rise. By making an investment in double glazing, you'll be taking steps to safeguard your house against heat loss and excessive energy costs.
Unfortunately, double glazing is not indestructible, and if it breaks, it will be difficult to keep your house at that level of thermal efficiency. Therefore, it is crucial to recognise whether your double glazing is broken or malfunctioning so that you may take immediate action.
What causes double glazing to "blow"?
When there is a leak in the window, the insulating gas—typically argon—escapes, allowing ordinary air to enter, and the double glazing gets blown. Usually, this happens via the seal, which is the black rubber band that surrounds the glass edge. As the window's weakest point, this is often where breaks occur.
If your double glazing begins to mist or fog up and you are unable to wipe it off, it has blown. You can't wipe it off from the outside because condensation is forming on the inside of the glass. Due to the vacuum barrier created by the thermally insulating gas between the glass, there is no other route for outside water vapour to enter a double-glazing unit but via a leak.
How may blown double glazing be fixed?
In order to avoid having to deal with subpar thermal insulation in your house for an extended period of time, you should get the unit repaired or replaced as soon as possible after it has blown. Condensation may also cause additional problems, such as the development of black mould, which poses health dangers and can further damage the window if left unattended.
There are a few alternatives available to you for how to handle your blown double glazing:
- Hire a specialist to replace the seal.
- You need to swap out the seal.
- Replace the whole unit.
Which choice is the best?
Even while the last choice can seem a little dramatic, it's really the greatest one to choose. All of the thermally insulating gas between the two glass panes is lost when double glazing blows. Therefore, even if you decide to repair the seal, your double-glazed window will still have lost a crucial layer of insulation.
The alternative that can be completed the fastest and for the least amount of money is replacing the seal on your own. The procedure of replacing the seal is rather simple for do-it-yourselfers, and there are numerous online instructions available. To prevent breaking the glass or any other portion of the unit when replacing it, you will need a few pieces of equipment and a certain degree of knowledge. We give this approach the least favourable rating out of the three. If you believe it to be your best choice, it is still worthwhile to pursue.
The middle advice among the three is to have a professional replace the seal. If you opt to take this course, you can be confident that the work will be done correctly and that you will still save money by not having to replace the whole item. Additionally, a professional will vacuum the space between the two panes of glass so that there is no moisture-filled air there and just a vacuum. Even while it isn't as effective as thermally insulating gas, this method may help you prevent future condensation build-up.
The best of the three is to have the unit replaced. Double glazing should be totally replaced to restore it to its pre-seal thermal efficiency levels when it blows since it had likely already reached the end of its natural life cycle.
